Secret! 2.2.1 Strong Encryption For Your Data on Android

Installation And Upgrade

Secret! runs on all current Android® handhelds with at least Android 4.4 or higher. You can download Secret! from the Google Play Store. Buying via the Play Store will ensure you get updates automatically. You'll find the complete version history at the bottom of this document.

Alternatively, if the Google Play Store is not available for you, you can install and purchase it directly from our web site.

This app requires the following permissions: Internet (for synchronizing with Secret! Desktop - only in the local network, never with a central server in the Internet), Write external storage (for exporting Secret! data to the local storage), Check License and Get Accounts for license checking.

At the very first start of Secret! you need to define a new password. To avoid typos you have to enter it twice.

Password

Everything you store in Secret! is encrypted with a password of your choice. This password is used to encrypt and decrypt your data and only someone knowing this password can access your data. No back doors, no hidden weakness! If you forget your password, you will have to remove and reinstall Secret! as there's absolutely no way to get to your data without knowing the password.

The password can be up to 24 characters long and may consist of letters, digits, and special characters. The password is not case-sensitive to avoid problems with accidental caps lock.

You can encrypt different records with different passwords. This can be useful if you want to protect some especially important records with an extra-long and complicated password, or if you want to share some information with others using a general password.

Records that cannot be decrypted with the current password(s) will be marked with a hash sign (#) in the list. When you select such a record, Secret! will ask you for the password for that record. All passwords that you enter while you use Secret! are saved internally, so you do not need to enter them twice.

In the record list, select menu Change Password, to change the password for all records of the current category. Open a single record and select Change Password to change the password only for the current record.To protect against typos, you have to enter the new password twice.

Note that changing the password for multiple records will only work for those records that can currently be decrypted (i.e. are not marked with a hash sign).

Data

Secret! offers a two level concept of categories and records. You can create as many records as you want and assign an arbitrary category to each of them

You can store anything you like in Secret!, e.g. credit card information, accounts, on-line passwords, transaction numbers, one-time passwords and everything else that needs to be kept Secret! We've even heard of people storing their diary or birthday present lists in Secret!

To avoid accidental changes to very important data you can mark records as read-only in the Details dialog. In read-only mode, an R will be displayed next to the record title and the record background will be light gray.Tap on the title or select menu Edit Details to change the read-only setting.

To search in Secret!, tap on the Search button while in list view or in record view. Search is not case-sensitive and will find arbitrary sub-strings. Wildcards (*,?) are not supported.

Secret! contains a password generator which helps you create new passwords. The newly created password is inserted into the Secret! record and copied to the clipboard so you can use it in other applications (e.g. on a web site).

Collapse Mode

To let you quickly navigate in long records on the small handheld screen, Secret! features a special paragraph collapse mode. When you tap on the title or select menu Edit Details and select Collapse Paragraphs, all paragraphs (text blocks separated by an empty line) are collapsed to their first line. Tap on the arrow sign to the right of a paragraph to expand it into full view. The collapse mode is not available in Secret! Desktop (because the PC screen is usually large enough to see the whole text).

Synchronization

Synchronizing with Secret! Desktop requires both your Android and the PC on the same WiFi network.Your data is only synchronized in your local network, no central server on the Internet is involved.

Start Secret! on your Android and select menu Synchronize (if the menu entry is disabled then your Android is not connected via WiFi). Enter the address shown in Secret! Desktop on your Android, and tap Synchronize.

Note: If Secret! Desktop shows multiple adresses, this means your PC is connected to multiple networks. You'll need to try the adresses one by one until you get a connection.

By default, synchronization is two-way, and will synchronize additions, deletions and modifications. You can select to overwrite the handheld or the desktop in the Secret! Desktop synchronization window.

When you cannot connect to Secret! Desktop, check that the address entered is the same as displayed in Secret! Desktop (if there are multiple addresses, try each of them). Also make sure your device is logged into your network via WiFi (not via cellular), and no firewall or security program is blocking network access to your PC.

If you cannot synchronize your data via WiFi, you can manually import/export encrypted data. In Secret! Desktop, select File - Export and export as file secret.dat. Copy this file to the top-level directory of your SD card, disconnect your Android device from the PC, then start Secret! on Android, enter your password, and select menu More - Import. Existing records will not be duplicated by an import.

TAN/OTP Mode

Do you use transaction numbers (TANs) for online banking or other one-time passwords (OTP) for secure authorization? Secret! has a special built-in TAN mode that makes using TAN lists easier than ever.

Enter your list of TANs line-by-line into a standard record, then tap on Details and switch to TAN mode. Now you can use the TANs one-at-a-time. If a TAN is used, press and hold the list item until the Delete popup appears. You can undo the last removed entry. To prevent accidental changes, new TANs can only be entered in standard mode.

Used TANs are internally marked with an asterisk (*). You can always see the complete list of TANs by unselecting the TAN/OTP mode. You can enter additional information below the TAN list, e.g. your account data. In normal mode, this text is separated from the TAN list by a single empty line.

Backup

Data stored in Secret! is usually very important to you. Make sure you have a current backup available in case your handheld is lost or breaks down. The backup is always encrypted, so there is no danger if someone gets access to the file.

If you use Secret! Desktop, the synchronization will automatically back up your data to the PC.

If you do not use Secret! Desktop, choose menu Export to export all data as a file secret.dat in the root directory of the external memory (which is accessible via USB). You can import this file in Secret! Desktop or in Secret! Android.

You can activate an automatic backup in Settings. This will write a full copy of the internal database to a file secret.dat in the root directory of the external memory. You can open this file with Secret! Desktop. If you're on Android 5.0 or higher, you can select an arbitrary directory for the backup.

License

We recommend to purchase Secret! in the Google Play Store because then you get updates automatically.

If you cannot purchase (or find) Secret! in the Android Market, you can purchase a license from us. Please make sure to provide the right user name as displayed in the Secret! registration window.